Reece Walsh injured, leaves training early in Broncos nightmare

Brisbane's finals campaign has been thrown into chaos with Reece Walsh limping from training days before their blockbuster final.

Reece Walsh is in doubt for Sunday’s qualifying final against Canberra after suffering an injury at training on Tuesday.

In a finals nightmare for the Broncos, Walsh grabbed at his calf and left training early, heading indoors and before being assessed by Brisbane’s medical staff.

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It’s unclear if Walsh will need to miss this week’s final against the Raiders, but a minor calf strain (Grade 1) typically has a lay-off time of 10-12 days, with full recovery often taking two to four weeks.

Walsh has rediscovered his best form in recent weeks and helped the Broncos secure a top four finish, starring with two tries and strong defensive efforts in Brisbane’s win over the Melbourne Storm last week.

The Broncos will be sweating on Walsh’s fitness, while halfback Adam Reynolds is no certainty to play as the 35-year-old veteran eyes a return from a grade two hamstring injury.

Reynolds and coach Michael Maguire have backed Ben Hunt and Billy Walters to perform in week one of the finals after filling in for Reynolds and Ezra Mam in the halves while they’ve been sidelined with injuries.

Watch Reece Walsh limp from training in the video above

Reece Walsh left Broncos training early. Photo: X/Peter Badel.

Walsh is in doubt for the final against the Raiders. Picture: NRL Images

“My hammy has definitely improved,” said Reynolds, who could be used off the bench.

“It’s feeling good. I got through a fairly large session on Saturday and that felt good throughout the session, but it’s a bit different when you’re in and around the team and trying to do different things.

“The medical staff have been really diligent in the way they have gone about things. I have full trust in them to decide whether to be right this week or to rest it.

“Billy has been a five-eighth most of his career and Hunty has been a halfback for 90 per cent of it, so we knew we wouldn’t drop too much with them in the halves.

“They have combined really well and they would be playing in the halves at other clubs in the NRL because they are so good.

“We have great depth there and they have really stepped up.”

It’s also unclear if Maguire will recall centre Gehamat Shibasaki after dropping him for the last round of the season for turning up to training hungover.

Adam Reynolds is racing the clock to be fit for finals. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Walsh’s injury scare comes as the Broncos questioned whether the Raiders were playing mind games around the injury cloud hovering over veteran prop Josh Papali’i.

Brisbane will be hoping for a better result than their 32-22 loss to Canberra in round 2 when the Broncos felt they walked into a Raiders ambush.

According to the Courier Mail, the Broncos’ team bus was parked in an obscure location and the team was made to walk through a horde of Raiders fans at GIO Stadium.

The Raiders will host the Broncos in Canberra on Sunday and the minor premiers will be hoping Papali’i will be fit to play after suffering an ankle injury at training.

The 33-year-old has been placed in a moon boot after a training incident on Friday.

The Queensland cult hero reportedly suffered a serious ankle injury during the contact session and needed to be helped off the field.

“Canberra Raiders prop Josh Papali’i is in doubt for Sunday afternoon’s Qualifying final against the Broncos, after sustaining an ankle injury at training last week,” the club said in a statement on Monday.

Raiders prop Josh Papalii is in doubt for the final with an ankle injury.

“Papali’i injured his ankle on Friday during training and will undergo treatment this week to determine his availability for Sunday.”

According to the report, Papali’i is at long-odds to recover in time for the club’s qualifying final on Sunday and will not train with teammates ahead of Saturday’s final training run before they face-off with the Broncos at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

It is a significant gut punch for the minor premiers with Papali’i widely recognised as the heart and soul of the team.

Papali’i was one of 10 players to be rested from the club’s final regular season game against the Dolphins.

Matt Timoko, Kaeo Weekes, Jed Stuart, Ethan Strange, Jamal Fogarty, Joe Tapine, Tom Starling, Simi Sasagi, Josh Papali’i, Zac Hosking and Hudson Young were all rested with the club having already secured top spot on the ladder.

If Papali’i fails to prove his fitness, Trey Mooney will reportedly retain his spot on the bench.